New movies opening in Des Moines this weekend

Mar. 7, 2013

"Oz the Great and Powerful"

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Oz the Great and Powerful (3 stars out of 4)

Plot: When shady circus magician Oscar Diggs (James Franco) is hurled away from Kansas into the wonderful land of Oz, he thinks that fame and fortune are his for the taking. However, three witches -- Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams) -- remain unconvinced that Oscar is the great wizard that the inhabitants of Oz need and expect. Reluctantly drawn into Oz's epic problems, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it's too late.

Emperor (2 stars out of 4)

Plot: As the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II, Gen. Fellers is tasked with deciding if Emperor Hirohito will be hanged as a war criminal. Influencing his ruling is his quest to find Aya, an exchange student he met years earlier in the U.S.

Dead Man Down (2 stars out of 4)

Plot: Rising gangland player Victor (Colin Farrell) infiltrates the criminal empire run by Alphonse (Terrence Howard), but his aim is not to accumulate prestige and power. Instead, Victor's mission is to make Alphonse pay for destroying his once-happy life. Victor's machinations have not gone unnoticed; Beatrice (Noomi Rapace), his neighbor, watches and waits. When she uncovers Victor's secret, she threatens to expose him unless he helps her carry out her own campaign of revenge.